


It's Great to be Human

by Sparky_Young_Upstart



Series: Fictober 2020 (but make it Power Rangers) [2]
Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Power Rangers Operation Overdrive
Genre: Fictober, First Crush, Gen, New Humanity, Post-"Evox Unleashed"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:00:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26824045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sparky_Young_Upstart/pseuds/Sparky_Young_Upstart
Summary: Steel loves being human, and wouldn't change it for a moment - but sometimes things fly over his head and he doesn't quite get it. Sensing something's wrong with his brother, Nate contacts one of Grid Battleforce's supporters for a hand.
Relationships: Mackenzie Hartford & Steel, Nate Silva & Steel
Series: Fictober 2020 (but make it Power Rangers) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1950724
Kudos: 11





	It's Great to be Human

**Author's Note:**

> Credit goes to fictober-event . tumblr . com for the prompts list I'll be using.
> 
> Day 2: "That's the easy part"

"Hmmm," Steel sighed despondently.

"What's wrong bro?" Nate asked, not looking away from the gadget he was assembling on his work bench.

"Oh, nothing. I'm fine," Steel said. He looked back at the magazine he was reading, then he sighed again.

"Steel, if something's bothering you then all you have to do is tell me."

"No, really! Everything's going great!" Steel insisted.

Nate could sense that wasn't the whole truth, so he turned around to look right at his brother. "You're sure? Nobody at the base is making you feel weird?"

"No way! Everyone's been really nice to me since I became human."

"Good. And the online classes you're taking are working out?"

"Yeah! It's a bit weird not being able to download them directly into my brain, but I like writing things down!"

"That's great! And how are things going filming your new TV show?"

"That's going good too!" Steel declared, before sighing again. Nate nodded.

"Okay, so there's something going wrong there that you don't want to tell me."

"No! It's all going fine!" Steel threw the magazine to the ground as he shot up. "Stop trying to tell me there's something wrong! I'm feeling fine!" Steel stormed out before Nate could catch up to his sudden shift in moods.

It wasn't the first time that had happened. Steel was half human since he was created, but stuff like actual emotions still seemed to be new to him. Nate sighed, worried that not even his brother realized what was going on inside his own head. He wanted to help him, but he had no idea how. He wasn't sure how a licensed therapist would be able to parse Steel's history - born as a cyborg and living like that for a year and a half, then only spending another year and a half as a human until now. And it's not like there were many people with shared experiences -

Wait! There was one person who might actually have an idea what Steel was going through. Nate pulled up the Grid Battleforce Address Book and started scrolling down to "H"...

* * *

Steel had been sulking in his room deep in the barracks of Grid Battleforce for the past 24 hours. It had fallen to Nate to call the director on Steel's new show and make up a really good reason for him not showing up to shoot that day. Then he stopped by his brother's door earlier that day to see how he was, and let him know that as far as the director was concerned, Steel was suffering from some really bad digestive issues. Steel hadn't responded, though, and was pacing through his room for the umpteenth time. _Why did Nate keep insisting something was wrong? I'm fine! I decided I'm fine, so now I'm fine! That's how it works, isn't it?_ Steel groaned and threw one of his pillows across the floor. _Why am I feeling so...so much? I used to be fine, but now my head keeps telling me to do all this stuff and I don't know what's going on_.

A knocking on his door broke him out of his thoughts. "Go away Nate! I don't wanna talk!"

"I'm not Nate, I'm a friend of his," replied the knocker. Steel stopped and raised an eyebrow, but didn't respond. "My name is Mack Hartford. I think I can help."

Steel walked up to the door but didn't open it, instead peering through the peephole to see a guy in his late twenties waiting for him. "I don't need anyone's help," Steel pouted.

"Uh-huh. Nate told me you might say that." Mack leaned against the door frame. "You're probably feeling really confused about everything going on inside your heart, and you can feel your emotions running a mile a minute. That happened to me when I turned human."

Steel paused, and after a moment he opened the door to Mack. "You...were a robot?" he asked carefully.

Mack nodded and smiled. "It's a big change."

Steel stepped aside to let Mack in, who sat down on Steel's bed as Steel took to a nearby chair. "So. What's up?" the older boy asked.

Steel pondered how best to respond. "I keep feeling...well, lots of stuff. But I thought I was getting used to that."

Mack nodded. "Okay. That makes sense. I was programmed with emotions at the beginning, so I was used to normal stuff. It was when stuff my dad wasn't planning on me encountering started popping up that I got distressed."

"Right? Like, I always liked spending time with my friends, and I knew what it was like to feel sad, but there are so many other things that keep throwing me off." Steel sighed. "And then these new feelings make my old feelings start going haywire, and I get really mean with other people."

"Sounds familiar. Talk me through it." Mack leaned forward. "What kind of feeling do you have when these spirals start."

"It's like..." Steel held his hands in front of him, searching for the words. "It's a feeling inside my stomach. A really light feeling, like I'm full of helium or something. It makes me feel good, but bad at the same time? Like, there's something out there I really want, and I know what it is, but it's just out of reach. Ugh, I'm not making any sense."

"No, you're doing fine," Mack said with a smile. He had a sneaking suspicion he already knew what the problem was. "Keep going. What happens around you when those feelings start."

"Hmm...well, usually they happen when I'm on set. There's another actor there, his name's Jamie, and I usually get those feelings when I'm goofing off with him."

Mack smiled brightly. "Do you think he's cute?"

Steel looked at Mack with bewilderment. "What?! Why does that matter?"

Mack stood up and put a hand on Steel's shoulders. "Because it sounds like you've got your first crush, dude."

Steel balked. "What are you talking about? I haven't crushed anybody!"

Mack shook his head. "No, a crush. It's a human thing that happens when you interact with somebody and you start to realize you're attracted to them, but you don't think they feel the same about you. So you hold all those feelings inside yourself and then they burst out at the worst possible moment."

Steel stood up and started pacing his room again. "No, that doesn't make sense. I mean sure, me and Jamie are good friends now, and he laughs at the stuff I say, and we had a really good time when we went to the movies last week. And I guess he looks good for a human. His hair is almost as nice as mine and when he smiles I -" That's when it all clicked for Steel. " _Oh_."

"Yeah."

"Did you have to go through all this too?"

Mack nodded again. "Yep. It was a few months after we beat our villains that I started acting up, and it took me a while to realize it was because I had feelings for one of my teammates."

"Dang. Who helped you out?"

"Nobody. I had to figure it out all on my own." He took a step closer to Steel and held his shoulders. "You know, turning human? That's the easy part. Or at least it seems that way sometimes. But when you're a robot you don't realize just how much that brain of yours can hold."

"Yeah, I'm starting to realize that. Hey Mack, is it okay if I call you if I ever need help with other stuff?"

"Of course!" Mack said, and the words were barely out of his mouth before Steel had flung his arms around the older boy and was squeezing him into a hug.

"Thank you," Steel murmured. "I already have a brother in Nate, but you helped me the same way he does, so I guess that kinda makes you a brother too, huh?"

Mack patted Steel on the back. "Yeah, I guess it does."

Eventually Steel let go and waved goodbye as Mack left his room. As soon as he was alone, he grabbed his phone off his desk and started messaging Jamie. He had something important to tell him.

Meanwhile, Mack began leaving the base when he had to stop and catch his breath. He held a hand up to his eye and realized he'd started to tear up a little. "Huh."

Even after all this time, his human feelings could still surprise him.


End file.
